Canto #1

Canto's adventure begins! Enslaved for generations, Canto's people once had hearts. Now they have clocks. When slavers damage a little tin girl's clock beyond repair, Canto must brave his strange and fantastic world to bring back her heart. Can he overcome the dangers that await to save the one he loves?

An all-ages fable inspired by Wizard of Oz and Dante's Inferno. Part fantasy. Part adventure. All heart.

Canto #1 genuinely caught me off guard. I had admittedly set some rather high expectations but I still wasnt prepared for how hard this hit me in the feels. To have evoked so much emotion in such a short space of time is no easy feat. Im not saying this will have you welling up, but if it doesnt at least stir you, maybe youve had your heart replaced too. Read Full Review

Canto is a beautiful and heartfelt story about love and heroism and all that can be good in the world despite all that is bad. It is simple, and marvelous and absolutely lovely, a fresh voice and change of pace. It is a light in the dark. Read Full Review

I loved Canto #1; I just wish I could find a physical copy! I have searched numerous shops across Southern California and no luck, even the SDCC version sold out before I could get one. Thankfully I have a digital version, but this is a book you will want to pick up and hold on to. I cannot wait for what comes next for Canto. The second printing is hitting stores soon, make sure to pick it up! Read Full Review

David M. Boohers script is also very tight and strong, sufficiently laying out the premise of the overall series based on this first issue. The mark of a good comic book writer is knowing when to say nothing and let the pages speak for themselves, which happens quite often here. By my count, theres a handful of pages without any text on them, save for the occasional sound effects. I appreciate any comic that knows when to pull back on narration or dialogue for the sake of them, letting the art breathe and do its own job of visual storytelling, so Canto gets high marks in that regard. Read Full Review

It kind of feels like a 1980s-1990s animated film. You know, like The Secret of NIMH, The Iron Giant, The Land Before Time. Sometimes you get that feeling like “geez… this is a little grim and dire” but it has that joyfulness to it as well. I think the book's tagline captures the book perfectly: “Part Fantasy. Part Adventure. All Heart”. That is all you need to know about Canto #1. Read Full Review

While the story seems simple at the start, Booher lays the groundwork for a fascinating world. Who are these beings? How did Canto's people become enslaved? Who is the mysterious person replacing the hearts? He also does a good job of keeping the book carefully straddling the line of intense without it crossing into too scary for an all ages book. Read Full Review

The story is very fascinating, with dark and cold tones makes it very clear that it is a mature story, for an adult audience, my only criticism is maybe the designs of the characters but the story works and this is what really matters. Read Full Review